Attack on Canada, U.S is attack on Muslims: imams
Last Updated: Friday, January 8, 2010 | 3:36 PM ET
CBC News
A group of Canadian and U.S. Islamic leaders on Friday issued a fatwa, or religious edict, declaring that an attack by extremists on the two countries would constitute an attack on the 10 million Muslims living in North America.
The 20 imams associated with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada said this marked the first fatwa by the Muslim clergy declaring attacks on Canada and the U.S. as attacks on Muslims.
"In our view, these attacks are evil, and Islam requires Muslims to stand up against this evil," the imams said in their fatwa.
The imams also said it is a duty of every Muslim in Canada and the U.S. to safeguard the two countries.
"They must expose any person, Muslim or non-Muslim, who would cause harm to fellow Canadians or Americans," they said.
The 20 imams who signed the fatwa come from B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Houston.
The fatwa comes just weeks after an attempted bombing on Christmas Day of a U.S. airliner bound for Detroit from Amsterdam.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian Muslim man, has been indicted on six charges, which include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/08/canada-muslim-fatwa-attack-canada-united-states.html
The leading Imam in Canada stated today in an interview that several(didn't say how many)imams in the US didn't sign because some were afraid of retaliation for family members in their home countries.
Last Updated: Friday, January 8, 2010 | 3:36 PM ET
CBC News
A group of Canadian and U.S. Islamic leaders on Friday issued a fatwa, or religious edict, declaring that an attack by extremists on the two countries would constitute an attack on the 10 million Muslims living in North America.
The 20 imams associated with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada said this marked the first fatwa by the Muslim clergy declaring attacks on Canada and the U.S. as attacks on Muslims.
"In our view, these attacks are evil, and Islam requires Muslims to stand up against this evil," the imams said in their fatwa.
The imams also said it is a duty of every Muslim in Canada and the U.S. to safeguard the two countries.
"They must expose any person, Muslim or non-Muslim, who would cause harm to fellow Canadians or Americans," they said.
The 20 imams who signed the fatwa come from B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Houston.
The fatwa comes just weeks after an attempted bombing on Christmas Day of a U.S. airliner bound for Detroit from Amsterdam.
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian Muslim man, has been indicted on six charges, which include attempted use of a weapon of mass destruction and attempted murder.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/08/canada-muslim-fatwa-attack-canada-united-states.html
The leading Imam in Canada stated today in an interview that several(didn't say how many)imams in the US didn't sign because some were afraid of retaliation for family members in their home countries.